Rebellion and Exile
When the Oldtimers were brought forward, they were used to matchless respect from Holders and Craftsmen. After their arrival in the present, this led to dissent among the common folk of Pern who respected the dragonmen, but no longer believed them entitled to every woman and craft that they desired.
The Oldtime Weyrleaders considered themselves to be superior to the other Pernese, and would not listen to reason. Eventually, in the novel Dragonquest, F'lar fought a duel with one of the Oldtimer leaders. Upon his victory, any Oldtimers who would not accept F'lar's leadership of Pern were exiled to the Southern Continent. The consequent use of the phrase Oldtimer referred only to those who had been exiled.
McCaffrey's The White Dragon recounts other efforts of the Oldtimers to reassert themselves on Pern, the most important of which is the foiled theft of a Queen dragon's egg. In later novels the Oldtimers become less important as their numbers diminished through attrition.
Read more about this topic: Oldtimers (Pern)
Famous quotes containing the words rebellion and/or exile:
“O make me a mask and a wall to shut from your spies
Of the sharp, enamelled eyes and the spectacled claws
Rape and rebellion in the nurseries of my face....”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“The exile is a singular, whereas refugees tend to be thought of in the mass. Armenian refugees, Jewish refugees, refugees from Franco Spain. But a political leader or artistic figure is an exile. Thomas Mann yesterday, Theodorakis today. Exile is the noble and dignified term, while a refugee is more hapless.... What is implied in these nuances of social standing is the respect we pay to choice. The exile appears to have made a decision, while the refugee is the very image of helplessness.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)